This invention pertains to web processing machines in general and more particularly to making ready printing presses and collators. Depending upon the type of press and the type of printed matter produced, makeready time (i.e. press set up time) becomes an important overall cost factor. There is a segment of the printing industry that is devoted primarily to the design, manufacturing and sale of business forms, and there are corresponding types of equipment which are unique to the business forms industry. The problems associated with making ready a business forms press are significantly amplified over those associated with other types of presses, primarily because of additional operations performed by such business forms presses. Since the makeready functions associated with the business forms press are the most complex, the invention will be described in the context of a makeready press, but will also have application to other type of presses. Many of these makeready functions are also present in preparation of a collator, which assembles the webs printed on these presses, and often performs mechanical operations alternately with the press. In the United States, there is an association devoted to this business known as the National Business Forms Association, located in Alexandria, Virginia, which has published a handbook known as The Business Forms Handbook (2nd Ed., copyright 1979), which is devoted to various aspects of the business forms industry.
In general, a form is designed to facilitate the handling and recording of various business transactions, internal or external to a company, with a view to prompt the user to accumulate and record whatever information is necessary for the transaction involved, and, if necessary, to duplicate this information on a number of copies for routing or record keeping purposes. The design of forms is covered in detail in the aforementioned handbook, and as is commonly known in the industry, there are also certain standard forms which have been developed and are used by many manufacturers and suppliers in this industry for particular job applications.
Business forms typically are categorized into two general types, unit sets and continuous forms. Unit sets are individual form sets with parts held together by a detachable glued stub or edge which is designed for easy separation. Styles of unit sets are divided into stock forms, custom printed forms and tabulating card sets. At this time, the most common are the custom manufactured unit sets. These forms have the advantages of saving handling, and reducing non-productive labor, they may be written either by hand or machine, or both, and they have many construction features which may be utilized, for example the forms of the set, or parts of them, may be sectioned, parts may be removable as single parts or portions thereof, etc. Unit sets are convenient and clean to handle, since if interleaved carbon paper is used the forms can be snapped apart without touching the carbon. Of course, if no-carbon paper is used this is not a problem. Unit sets are useful both for intermittent and regular work, and they have the advantage of not needing any special feeding attachments for typewriters, printers or other machinery used in entering on the forms. Also, a special part can be included in the sets, e.g. a duplicating master, safety paper, and transparent or translucent parts. The unit set form provides accurate registration within the set, it is easy to use, and thus training in its use is fast and simple.
Continuous forms are also sometimes known as "strip forms", and encompass continuous tabulating cards, fanfold forms and autographic register forms. The types of continuous forms are generally divided into stock forms, imprinted forms and custom design forms. They are traditionally designated by a measurement which states first the width and then the length, e.g., WxL. Continuous forms provide accurate part-to-part, line-to-line, and set-to-set registration. Controlling the handling of continuous forms with line holes, as is usually the custom, avoids the slipping out of registration of the various parts. Continuous forms are easy to use, can be written faster, particularly by continuous printers or the like, and consecutive numbering is preserved; sets can't be mixed accidentally. Also, continuous forms are capable of being manually or mechanically decollated and burst.
Thus, a typical forms manufacturing plant will have the capability to manufacture and merchandise both unit sets and continuous forms, with a predominance in one or the other type depending upon the types of business that the plant serves and the desires, to some extent of its customers.
The typical forms manufacturing plant involves functions not unlike a commercial printing plant. For example, the cycle may commence with a sales person contacting a customer and making an estimate to that customer. As part of the estimate, the nature and design of the form will be identified, and if the form is not a standard one, or a variation of a standard one, in most instances the estimate will include some example or layout. Following submission of the estimate there may be interaction between the sales person and the customer possibly including modification of the form design, or the quantity involved, but if all goes well the company will be given an order by the customer, at which time the job will be assigned a job number.
From the beginning of this process, there are certain types of information already available that will be pertinent to the job throughout the manufacturing and shipping portions of the job cycle. For example, the name and address of the customer, the shipping address if different, identification of the sales person and of the contact person at the customer, size and configuration of the form, color of parts, any special art work, etc. all are identified and can be recorded early in the process. This data can best be utilized if it is thereafter available quickly for checking, reuse, or addition to it, without repeated entry of the information.
Once an order is entered, the plant personnel must then schedule the job, make certain that the proper supplies are available, or order whatever additional supplies are needed, and prepare a schedule and routing of the job through the various departments (and their functions) within the plant.
This will usually involve the use of a form, and perhaps a folder or envelope, which moves through the departments as the job progresses. A typical job will require the preparation of one or more printing plates, and thus one of the first tasks to be performed will be typesetting and photocomposition, the product of which is then passed to the plate making department where the necessary printing plates are manufactured. Alternately the plates can be made directly through laser plate making apparatus.
The plates then are grouped with a job instruction sheet which identifies for the press operator the various measurements and settings that he needs to run the job. He will use these for setting up the press, but first it is necessary to assure that the proper type and supply of paper, ink, and related equipment such as perforating or slitting blades, numbering machines, possibly special punches and dies, are all available to the press operator. Then, with all of this information and material gathered, the press operator begins the job first by setting up the press, normally called makeready, following which he may run a small number of impressions, have them checked by his foreman for accuracy and compliance with the order requirements, after which the press will proceed in the running or productive mode until the required number of forms have been prepared. Because of a trend toward shorter run lengths, minimizing waste in this makeready procedure becomes more important. Depending upon the size or design of the form, the required number may either equal, or be a sub-multiple of the number of impressions performed by the press.
If the job requires a multi-part form, normally the product of the above described run will be rewound onto a roll, and the next part or parts of the form for the particular job will be printed, either subsequently on the same press, or perhaps on another press if it is available. There may be three or four different such rolls required, depending upon the number of parts of the form. In the case of a multi-part form, the finished rolls will then be transported to a collator where they will be assembled, perhaps further mechanical work may be done on the assembled forms such as cross-perforating or slitting, and the end product multi-part form will be folded in zig-zag fashion or batched, packaged, and delivered to the shipping department for addressing and shipment to the customer.
In the case of single part forms, the end product of the press, as mentioned above, may be folded, or divided into sheets, as it is delivered from the press, and then taken to the shipping department.
During all of this procedure, much of the job information will follow the order through the plant, will be recalled all or in part at various stages of the manufacturing procedure, even at the final shipping function where it will be necessary to prepare a shipping label, perhaps prepare an invoice, and instruct the shipper as to routing or delivery
As can be seen, the documentation included in progressing a job from beginning to end can be significant, and is subject to errors, resulting in possible waste or unnecessary time delay or missed delivery schedules, or cost overruns. A significant portion of job costs result from makeready time along with paper waste in setting the press or collator for final production. Further delays are possible in the event that materials or tools are not available or mislaid etc. when a job is scheduled for production, further costing undesirable down time. All of these factors impact the profitability of a printing press. Improved efficiency can be achieved if misinterpretation or errors in the job identification are minimized. The ability of a computer to store, recall, display on a terminal, to modify or expand upon the job data base is particularly useful in assuring smooth and properly scheduled handling of the entire sales, manufacturing, accounting, and shipping functions which all are necessary to the prompt and profitable completion of jobs in a business forms manufacturing establishment. Further efficiency can be achieved by automation in the press and collator to reduce labor cost, down time and errors. All of this can be combined with the other functions required of a printing operation to provide a smooth transition of jobs from beginning to end.